A woman of dazzling beauty was walking through the corridors of the Jade Palace.
She was Seishan, heading towards the throne room, as her mother had called her at the last moment to discuss something important. As she walked through the hallways, her black hair moved slightly, following the pattern of her unhurried steps.
The beautiful woman wore an elegant red dress, which matched her lips of the same intensity. The movement of her elegant dress slightly showed her long, defined legs. Everything created a hypnotizing contrast, taking into account her perfect skin of a gray color.
Seishan was already very beautiful even before being Awakened, but right now her skin had become more perfect and her figure showed a quality of elegance and grace that denoted a unique maturity.
Upon arriving at the throne room, she knocked on the door and seconds later they began to open slowly on their own.
Entering the room, she was greeted by the image of a woman of stunning beauty, with skin pale as a corpse, shiny black hair, and a red dress that spilled over her throne like a river of blood. She was her mother, the Queen.
"Mother, I was notified that you called me to talk about something important," Seishan said after making a small bow.
Her mother smiled as she always did, a maternal smile,
"I did, dear Shan." She added, "Come, take a seat."
Surprisingly for Seishan, there was a chair just a few meters away from the throne. A chair that had never been in that place.
Walking towards the chair with calm steps, she reached it and sat down elegantly. Afterwards she asked,
"What was the topic you wanted to discuss, Mother?"
"I just wanted to make sure of something," she replied, smiling at her again she added, "As your mother, it's my duty to make sure my daughters are ready for adult life."
Seishan was confused, "I don't understand, Mother, what do you mean?"
"Let's start from the beginning," she said. "We both know that due to difficult circumstances you lost a lot of your youthful time, Shan." With brighter eyes she added, "I just want to make sure you don't regret anything. You spent eight years in that place and lost a lot of time to enjoy your life."
She raised an eyebrow, "I know, Mother, I was in that place."
The Queen sighed slightly, "I know, I didn't mean to say that. Forgive me for my poor choice of words, I guess I'm just a bit nervous talking about this with you," she admitted. "I guess I just want to know if you're sure about what you've been doing since you returned."
"I am," Shan replied.
She smiled maternally again,
"I can't help but think you're sacrificing many things, daughter. Since you returned, you've only been training and planning to challenge the Second Nightmare, you've hardly had any free days to enjoy your youth, and when you get together with your sisters, it always feels like you're not present," she admitted.
"I just want to make sure you know what you're doing and ask you... is it worth it? That boy... Arthur, is it worth my daughter doing all this?"
Seishan fell silent, looking at the floor for a few seconds, gathering her thoughts. It was something she had also questioned herself several times since she returned. Is it worth it?
At first, she didn't know how to answer that question. Since she returned, she's only had one goal: to see him again.
But what is she willing to pay to do so?
She lost eight years of her life in that damn place, and it was precisely thanks to him that she managed to escape. But the price was losing him. And if the price of finding him again is herself? Is she willing to spend the following years training obsessively with the hope of seeing him again?
The answer her heart wants to give is, yes. She is willing.
But it's her brain that doesn't understand this decision.
Why would she be willing to sacrifice so much for just the possibility of seeing him again? Why, in a miserable four months, did his figure become so important in her heart?
She doesn't understand it.
And it was thanks to a conversation with her sister Bin that she realized the answer.
The heart doesn't follow any logic. It doesn't decide who to love logically, it just does. And her heart simply chose him. No matter the reason.
Was it because, thanks to him, in those four months she felt alive again after so long in that place? It doesn't matter.
Was it because, thanks to him, she was able to escape? It doesn't matter.
The only thing that matters is following what she wants, her desire. And her desire is to see him again.
So the answer to the question: Is it worth it?
Is a resounding: Yes. Every decision, every moment, and every sacrifice is worth it.
Lifting her gaze and focusing on her mother's face, Seishan smiled genuinely and with a confident tone replied,
"Yes, it's worth it, every passing second confirms my answer even more."
Her mother was silent for a few moments and returned the genuine smile, accompanied by small tears threatening to escape her beautiful eyes, "I am so proud of you, Shan."
Wiping away the tears she couldn't hold back with the back of her hand, she added,
"You are such a beautiful woman, my daughter." She added, "There's nothing I'd like more than to give you a hug right now."
Seishan got up from the chair and walked towards the throne, lightly touching her cold hand, she said, "Thank you, Mother, everything I am today is thanks to you."
Her mother intertwined her fingers with hers,
"No, daughter, everything you are, you built it yourself."
Seconds passed in silence as they maintained contact and looked at each other happily until the Queen hesitantly withdrew her hand and added,
"Your sisters have a surprise for you." She continued, "I'll let you go so you're not late."
She smiled at her and replied,
"Thank you, Mother, I'll take my leave then."
She slowly moved away from the throne and turned around to walk towards the door. Upon reaching it, she stopped and slowly turned to look at her mother, after smiling at her once more, she pushed the door open and headed towards the Gateway.
***
Moments later, in a room of the compound of the Song clan in the Waking World, eight women were sitting in front of a projector.
Among them were all the sisters who had already Transcended, plus Sylvie, and finally Seishan.
They were there because today was the premiere of the movie: A Song of the King and His Flame.
It was the movie about the events of the Forgotten Shore and it was Hel's idea to watch it together. Like remembering the times when they were young girls and watched movies all night until their mother came to scold them.
Obviously, thanks to the Clan's position and reputation, getting a copy of the movie to watch on their own without needing to attend the premiere was simple.
Curiously, the movie's title was the last thing shown to the public. She supposes it was simply because they couldn't decide what it might be, nothing more.
"Well, who's ready to watch the movie!?" Hel asked excitedly.
Bin was the first to respond, "I hope it's good and not a waste of time."
At that moment, she received an elbow and turning around, she saw Moonveil looking at her with a raised eyebrow,
"Of course it's going to be good, our sisters appear in it!" Staring at her, she added through gritted teeth, "Isn't that right, Bin?"
The sorceress cleared her throat and added, "Ohh, Yes! Obviously!"
Howl laughed heartily and said, "Come on, Hel! Start the movie!"
"Here I go, get ready!"
Before she could hit the "Play" button, Revel interrupted her,
"Wait."
Everyone turned to look at her, but Silent Stalker spoke, "What's wrong, Revel?"
"I ran out of popcorn."
Everyone's faces fell and they said simultaneously,
"What?"
Seishan said, "But the movie hasn't even started, how did you already run out of popcorn?"
"You all took too long," Revel replied as she stood up to get more popcorn.
Luckily, there was a machine in the same room, and seconds later, her sister sat back down with the popcorn bucket full.
Hel cleared her throat, "Well, everyone ready now?"
"Wait!"
Now everyone turned to look at Eunbin.
"WHAT!?" They shouted.
"No need to be so aggressive. Oh my... I just have to go to the bathroom, one second."
About a minute later, the sorceress was back and everyone was ready.
"The next one who interrupts will deal with me outside!" Hel threatened and then pressed the "Play" button with clear annoyance.
The screen began to light up with different colors and started traveling through the sky of NSQC. It crossed parks, different buildings but eventually stopped at the Mansion of the Immortal Flame Clan, racing through the hallways at high speed, it arrived at a room with the door slightly open. Outside was a little girl with silver-colored hair, and with her tiny hand, she was slowly opening the door. Inside the room, there was a handsome, tall man with black hair looking at a map. Moments later, this man moved his head and focused on the tiny creature that had entered the room, doing so he smiled and at the same time moved a broken sword out of her reach. Kneeling down to her height, he said:
"That is not a toy, Nephis."
Her head tilted. "But Daddy, why is your sword broken?"
"So what if it's broken?" He smiled. "It's still sharp."
He put a hand on his daughter's shoulder and gave her a serious expression. "One day you will wield a sword too, darling. When you do, remember one thing: we, the Awakened, only raise arms to protect humanity. As long as we don't give up, no matter how dire the situation is, there will be hope. Just like this sword, humanity is more resilient than it seems!"
"I want to vomit," said Eunbin.
"Awww look how cute Nephis was as a little girl!!" Hel added.
Howl asked with both eyebrows lowered, "Did Broken Sword really have the sword broken?"
"No," replied Seishan.
The camera left the Immortal Flame Clan mansion and raced through the skies again at high speed. Eventually stopping at an ordinary house. Inside the house, a family was quietly having dinner. In the room, there was a man with ash-brown hair and deep blue eyes, with strong, fierce eyebrows, accompanied by a woman with distinctive reddish-brown hair and brown eyes, both with three stars on their uniform, clearly marking that they were Masters and worked for the government.
On the other side of the table were two children, one of them a girl with grayish-brown hair and brown eyes. Accompanied by a boy three years older than her, who had reddish-brown hair and deep blue eyes.
The four were quietly having dinner until the boy asked: "Daddy, why do you work so much?"
The man stopped eating and smiled slightly: "Dear Arthur, that is our duty as Awakened! As long as we keep working and striving, we will never stop growing strong to face the Spell together!"
The boy looked at him with a smile and the camera left the house again, moving to another scene.
"I want to vomit again," said Eunbin.
"That's Arthur!?" Moonveil asked while turning her head looking at her sisters.
For the first time, Sylvie spoke, "Yes, he had different hair and eye color before his First Nightmare."
"Damn, even then he was handsome," said Howl.
Seishan turned towards her robotically, "Why don't you repeat what you said. Lyra." Emphasizing her real name at the end.
Howl's eyes widened,
"No! Don't call me by my real name! That... that's a bad sign!"
She smiled at her, "I couldn't hear you, Lyra, why don't you come a little closer?"
Howl, instead of getting closer, quickly turned around and hid behind Revel. The latter raised an eyebrow and pointed at the screen, "Shut up and keep watching."
The screen split and motivational music began to play. On one side of the screen, scenes started showing Nephis growing and improving, while on the other, they showed the same thing about Arthur. The scenes showed them from childhood until just before their First Nightmares.
Then the screen focused on Nephis again.
Nephis, now a beautiful woman with prominent curves and hypnotizing gray eyes, stood before the Academy gate, her gaze fixed as she observed the scene serenely. Beside her, a skinny young man, with black hair and eyes of the same color, looked at the Academy with eyes full of hope.
Moments later, there was a small montage of Nephis training, followed by her exhibition in the Sparrings. Whenever she won, she would end up dedicating words of motivation to her fellow Sleepers. Words like "Never give up!" or "Remember our goals!" Then her winning streak ended when a handsome Legacy, with green eyes and strong, beat her in combat by a hair. It was Caster.
"Hey! Who was that boy with black eyes?" Hel asked.
Sylvie replied, "His name is Sunny."
"Damn, he's gorgeous!" she said.
Silent Stalker looked at her, "That boy looks about thirteen and you're in your mid-twenties."
She shrugged, "So what? Good for him, right?"
Eunbin chimed in, "Hel, shut up! You're making everything worse!"
In a police station room, a young man with reddish-brown hair was sleeping peacefully while challenging his First Nightmare. Around him, his whole family was waiting for his return, and suddenly Arthur's hair color began to change, turning a pale blonde. Seconds later, his eyes opened and focused with a golden hue, instead of the previous deep blue.
After a scene where his family showed their concerns for him. Arthur just says: "You didn't have to worry, a miserable First Nightmare could never defeat me!."
He continued with the next phrase: "I even returned bearing a True Name! Yes! I, Paragon of Purity, from this moment onward will protect my fellow Awakened, and together we will defeat the Spell!"
"Oh my god, I want to die," Moonveil said.
Revel, Eunbin, and Silent Stalker only replied, "Same."
"Arthur is nothing like that!" Sylvie exclaimed loudly.
Seishan had a premonition that Howl was going to say something and moved to look at her before her sister had the chance.
"I didn't say anything," she said under the pressure of her gaze, "Yet," she added afterwards.
Seishan let out a sigh and turned back to the screen.
Arthur is seen calmly entering the academy with headphones on, his golden eyes scanning all the present Sleepers and his pale blonde hair moving slightly. Upon entering the reception, the gaze of everyone present turns towards him, and the women present start blushing upon seeing him. Some even fainted.
Then Arthur adds: "Don't worry, fellow Awakened. I, Paragon of Purity, am here to survive the Spell, together we will achieve it!"
The scene extends, showing a montage of Arthur sweeping the floor with all the Sleepers while saying motivational phrases. Caster arrives, and the fight is intense, and eventually Arthur defeats him. With Caster on the ground, he kneels and extends his hand saying, "You did very well, comrade! Warriors like you are the ones we need!"
Moments later, Nephis is seen approaching the ring, and they both smile at each other. They wish each other good luck, and the combat begins. The fight scene is intense and lengthy but ends with both falling out of the ring, a clear tie between them.
Arthur stands up before her and extends his hand. Nephis, still on the ground, gently takes it and stands up. At that moment, Arthur brings her hand closer and gives it a brief kiss on the back, like a gentleman.
They both look at each other slightly blushing and say good fight.
The eyes of all the sisters were completely wide open, and Sylvie was the one who spoke,
"I'm not the only one who saw Arthur kiss Nephis's hand, right?"
They all said, "No."
Howl turned to look at Seishan and then at the screen, repeating the process several times, but said nothing upon noticing her sister's completely shocked face.
The movie advanced.
The screen splits again, showing Nephis alongside Cassie and Sunny traveling through the Labyrinth. And on the other half, Arthur and Sylvie are shown doing the same. During the montage, it can be seen how both groups several times are meters away from meeting, but in the end, they always end up going in different directions.
"What? That didn't happen at all!" Sylvie said angrily.
Seishan added, "Well, at least the Labyrinth is quite realistic."
The Cohort is shown joining forces with Effie and then with Caster. Also, a montage of all the events that happened in the Dark City, ending with a discussion between Sunny and Nephis, but eventually they resolve their differences, and everyone leaves the city in search of something that would help them defeat Gunlaug.
"No, Sunny! Don't fix anything and come with me!" Hel exclaimed, raising her hands.
Moonveil looked at her with clear disappointment on her face, "You realize you're talking to a screen, right?"
"So what? Revel laughs reading books, and no one says anything to her," she said, crossing her arms exaggeratedly.
"What do I have to do with this?" Revel asked while bringing a handful of popcorn to her mouth, it was already her 5th bucket.
The scene shows the moment the Cohort says goodbye to the Dark City, and just at that moment, Arthur and Sylvie arrive at the Dark City. Not finding each other by a hair's breadth again.
Next, Arthur's arrival at the outer settlement is shown, and all the women present blush upon seeing him. He gives a motivational speech, and after a big montage showing Arthur motivating these Sleepers, he subsequently decides to enter the castle to defeat Gunlaug.
Before the fight, Arthur stood before the Bright Lord and said, "This is where your reign ends, old tyrant, from this day on. I, Paragon of Purity, will take care of purifying your soul, surrendered to the Spell!"
The fight was intense, with both sacrificing things, but eventually culminated with Arthur defeating the old tyrant.
He sits on the throne, and everyone present kneels before him.
"I told you! From this day forward, we Awakened will live as we always should have! Fighting together to defeat the Spell!"
Everyone present started applauding while slowly standing up.
"I have to say I agree with Howl," Bin said with her eyes glued to Arthur, and because of this, she didn't dodge the popcorn bucket that hit her on the head seconds later.
The bucket was obviously thrown by Seishan, "Eunbin, you too!?"
"I mean, it will be his decision when he returns, and you know I don't like to lose, dear Shan," added the sorceress.
Months later, the Cohort is shown returning from the Labyrinth and they are greeted with applause and bows. Eventually, before reaching the castle, they see a figure sitting calmly on the steps. The figure was Arthur.
Upon seeing them, he smiled and spoke,
"It's a pleasure to see you returned safe and sound. Especially you, Lady Nephis."
She blushed slightly and said, "It's a pleasure to see you again, Lord Arthur," while playing with her eyelashes.
He got up from the steps and added with a smile,
"Come on, what are you waiting for? I'll show you where your quarters will be."
"Why are they trying to pair Arthur with Nephis?" Sylvie asked.
Moonveil replied, "It's a government move, Sylv."
"I guess they decided to pair up who were the strongest and use them as an example of an exemplary couple," added Silent Stalker.
"But they completely erased Seishan and Sunny, for example," Sylvie said.
Bin replied, "They can't place Shan as the romantic interest because that would be advertising for our clan, and the government has to maintain neutrality."
"It doesn't bother me that Sunny doesn't appear! The less people know about him, the better for me!" Hel added with a smile.
The entire Cohort was having a sparring session, but only Arthur and Nephis were left fighting each other, while the rest went off to do other things.
The sparring between them was strong, fast, and of high quality. Nephis moved unpredictably, while Arthur responded thanks to his reflexes, and they remained evenly matched.
After an exchange that Arthur won, they show how Nephis ends up slipping, and just before she hits the ground, Arthur catches her, embracing her around the waist with one arm, and their faces are inches apart.
Their faces started to blush, and after seconds of staring intensely into each other's eyes, Arthur began to close the distance. Nephis gently closed her eyes and surrendered to the kiss.
But moments before their lips could make contact, a figure enters where they were sparring, and they abruptly separate. The figure was Caster.
"FUCK CASTER!" Revel shouted, raising her arm.
Everyone turned towards her robotically, and under the pressure of so many stares, Revel simply shrugged and kept eating popcorn as if nothing had happened, it was already her 8th bucket.
The scene shows the entire Siege, Effie is seen drowning in a tide of Nightmare Creatures. Kai and Sylvie fighting multiple Spire Messengers simultaneously, and it continues showing Nephis and Arthur fighting side by side, showing their perfect synchronization and chemistry.
Then it cuts to both of them going up to fight the Crimson Terror together and a sequence of Sunny guiding the rest of the Sleepers towards the Gateway.
Once there, Sunny starts looking for Effie, who was carrying Cassie, and approaches both of them.
Looking at Effie, he says, "Promise me you'll take care of her for me."
She accepts without understanding the reason, and then Sunny approaches Cassie's unconscious body and kisses her on the forehead before disappearing towards the top to help Arthur and Nephis.
"WHATTT!" Hel screamed.
Everyone started laughing while Hel began turning her head, looking at all her sisters. Moments later, her beautiful face showed clear signs of anger, and she stood up abruptly.
"I'm going to pay this 'Cassie' a visit. Finish without me," while trying to summon a memory.
At that moment, all the sisters stood up – except Revel – and sat her back down despite all of Hel's discomfort.
First, Nephis is shown dodging an attack from the Terror, and then Arthur cutting a tentacle at the last moment. The fight is intense, and at one point Caster appears to help them. The three of them begin to push the Terror back more and more, but after an unfortunate slip from Caster, he ends up receiving an attack from the Crimson Terror and dies.
Seeing this, they both start attacking the Terror with more intensity until Nephis, after tense moments, finally kills it.
Both collapse to the ground exhausted and end up with their hands lightly touching. When they turned to look at each other with smiles, they received the notification from the Spell, letting them know that one of them would have to stay behind.
At that moment, Sunny arrives at the top, and the three of them decide to go down to the Gateway.
When the Terror's attack hit Caster, Revel let out a small laugh and said quietly, "Deserved."
Once in front of the Gateway, Arthur remained silent for a few seconds.
The sound of the wind around the Gateway filled the space as everyone waited for his decision. Finally, he lifted his gaze and fixed it on Nephis. His expression, usually calm, turned serious.
"Nephis…"
She looked at him without looking away.
Arthur took a step towards her.
"I always thought the Awakened only fought to survive," he said slowly. "But after meeting you, I understood something different."
Nephis tilted her head slightly.
"What thing?"
Arthur smiled faintly.
"That some fight for something greater."
He stopped in front of her, so close that there was barely any space between them.
"You and I… we are alike in that. We share the same aspiration. To show the world what an Awakened should aspire to be."
Nephis observed him in silence.
"My heart burns brighter than your flames, because you have occupied it so well, my dear star."
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Arthur leaned in and kissed her softly.
After separating, Nephis looked at him, holding his face, "Now that I've found you, I don't want to lose you, Arthur."
He smiled at this and gave her another fleeting kiss,
"I don't want to lose you either, Neph. I love you, and that's why I hope that in the future you can forgive me."
In a single motion, he pushed her through the Gateway. While she looked at him sadly.
Then Arthur looked at Sunny and pointed to the Gateway.
"You can go. There's still time."
Sunny shook his head, "After seeing you today… I understood what a true Awakened should aspire to be. I can't leave you alone."
On the screen, the image of Cassie appeared briefly.
Sunny smiled slightly. "I also have to be an example for the person I love."
Arthur returned the smile. "We have a long road ahead, comrade. We better survive to see our loved ones again." The scene changed to a brief montage of both descending the Spire, and then the screen went dark, marking the end of the movie.
When the screen went black, total silence remained in the room, none of them wanted to speak after watching that movie for three hours. The only noise that could be identified was Revel, who kept eating popcorn.
The latter took out her communicator and entered a website to rate movies. She gave it 4 out of 5 stars and closed the communicator.
"Well, that was intense, right?" Silent Stalker said, breaking the ice.
"Yeah, intense…" Hel said, and then pulled her tether, disappearing towards the Dream Realm.
Eunbin stood up and added,
"Could have been worse."
"I'm not sure how," Seishan said with a serious face and left the room. Seconds later, Sylvie followed her without saying anything.
Moonveil and Howl both pulled their tethers and disappeared without a word.
Silent Stalker said, "It was shit, honestly," and followed her sisters. Eunbin left through the door because she had errands in the Waking World, and only Revel remained seated.
She took out her communicator again and started reading reviews from people who had already seen it at the early premiere. She gave a couple of likes to ones she agreed with and pulled her tether.